Line #39 Recap/Batwoman2019S1E1Pilot


1	Kate Kane returns to Gotham when a gang targets her father and her ex-girlfriend Sophie Moore.
2	----
3	!!Tropes in this episode include:
4	* AnachronicOrder: The whole episode takes place well before the ''Series/Elseworlds2018'' crossover so they can show Kate first starting out as Batwoman.
5	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Step-sister in Mary's case, but still very much the case.
6	* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: Point Rock's PT uniforms are rather atypical, featuring sweatshirts (presumably t-shirts for warmer weather), BDU trousers, and boots; the same uniforms at the real-life service academies resemble standard workout clothing, with tees, shorts, and sneakers (and cold weather variants). All that's a bit odd, but the bigger error is that the boots are from the Army Combat Uniform, which, while it had some chronological overlap with the BDU and the two would have coexisted at around the time the scene is set, was never authorized to wear in a such a mix-and-match fashion.
7	* AsYouKnow: Mary feels the need to mention she's Kate's stepsister when calling her to inform her about Sophie's kidnapping. Lampshaded by Kate's response:
8	-->'''Kate:''' Mary, our parents have been married for over a decade. I know who you are.
9	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Kate worries that her father never really wanted her around (and [[CriminalMindGames Alice doesn't hesitate]] to play on this fear) but Jacob reveals he's actually trying to protect his daughter, having already lost one.
10	* BackAlleyDoctor: Mary is a heroic version, running an underground clinic for the poor using stolen supplies from her university.
11	* BadassInDistress: Sophie is more than capable of throwing a punch, but she gets abducted by Alice's gang. Kate likewise finds herself captured during her first rescue attempt, but Alice just knocks her out and dumps her near Mary's clinic.
12	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Played with. Kate takes a cricket bat to the face with no subsequent visible head or face trauma, but the knife wound she received in the same fight still needs stitches.
13	* BetaOutfit: Kate isn't wearing her own suit yet, instead using Batman's old suit modified for her physique.
14	* BookcasePassage: Kate Kane is in Bruce Wayne's old office and notices the display case holding Martha Wayne's pearls is in the wrong position on the bookcase. Where it ''should'' be, there's an indentation in the surface and a locking lug. Kate puts the case back in position and turns it, causing the hidden door to the Batcave elevator to open.
15	* CainAndAbel: Turns out that "Alice" is Kate's own twin sister Beth.
16	* CallForward: Vesper Fairchild, who plays a role as TheGhost in ''Series/Elseworlds2018'', is heard in this episode.
17	* ChekhovsGun: Kate and Beth's necklaces are shown several times, and end up being key to Kate's realization during TheReveal.
18	* ChekhovsGunman: Sophie stabs Cheshire Cat, one of Alice's goons, during her abduction. He later seeks out Mary's clinic, where Mary learns from him where Sophie probably is.
19	* DramaticIrony: Jacob isn't bothered by the supposed return of Batman, thinking 'he' is just another HeroicWannabe who will quickly get killed because they don't have the skillset. Kate however has been training for years to get herself qualified to join the other ex-special forces personnel in Crow Security; but rather than accept her father's offer to join, she decides to become the Bat instead.
20	* FailedDramaticExit: After saving Sophie, Kate goes to leave the trailer they've landed in only to realise the door is locked; she releases the catch with an embarrassed smile.
21	* {{Flashback}}: The whole episode is set in the past, and within there are also some additional ones to Kate's childhood and her time in military school.
22	* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Played with. The first mention that Beth's body was never recovered happens just before TheReveal, but her necklace, which plays a key role in that reveal, was seen multiple times throughout the episode.
23	* HiddenDepths: Mary stitches up Kate in her own back-alley clinic, much to the latter's surprise.
24	* HopeBringer: The people of Gotham gain lots of hope when they believe Batman to have returned.
25	* InternalReveal: Kate learns that her cousin is Batman.
26	* LikeADaughterToMe: Sophie is more or less treated by Jacob as this, much to Kate's bitterness. Alice goes so far as to claim that Jacob loves Sophie more than his biological daughter.
27	* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman: Kate initially blames Batman for failing to rescue her mother and sister, while being grateful that her cousin Bruce Wayne was there for her while she coped with the loss. Once she realises the two are one and the same, and Luke tells her he never stopping looking for Beth, Kate drops any disdain she has for Batman.
28	* LiterallyFallingInLove: Kate rescuing Sophie is played up for maximum romantic subtext, with them falling onto a bed with their [[NearKiss faces really close to each other]].
29	* LoveCannotOvercome: In the flashbacks, Sophie decides to lie about her homosexual conduct because she wants to stay at the military academy, much to Kate's disappointment.
30	* MalevolentMaskedMen: How Alice's gang is dressed.
31	* TheMole: One of the Crow Security men, Dodgson, is in cahoots with Alice.
32	* MyGreatestFailure: Bruce's greatest one is failing to save Kate's mother and sister, who died during a Joker attack. A bus he hijacked ran their car off the road while on a bridge. Bruce used grapple lines to secure it before it could fall, but didn't count on the poor engineering of the car's trunk door, resulting in the car falling into the river just after Kate crawled out.
33	* NeverFoundTheBody: Despite all his advanced tech, Bruce never found Beth's body. Then it turns out she's still alive...
34	* NotQuiteDead: Beth isn't dead and has become the villainous "Alice".
35	* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Kate saves Sophie from a roughly 8-story fall by catching her in midair and shielding her before they crash through the roof of a construction foreman's trailer and [[SuggestiveCollision land on a bed inside]].
36	* OhCrap: Alice, when she sees Kate's silhouette, thinking Batman has returned.
37	* OneSizeFitsAll: Despite the Batsuit being custom-designed for a (presumably larger) man, Kate has no problem adapting it to fit her feminine form.
38	* ParentsAsPeople: Jacob explains that he has always been so distant and against Kate's wishes to join the Crows or the military because he didn't want to lose her too.
39	* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Wayne Enterprises security password is still "Alfred".
40	* PracticallyJoker: Beth aka "Alice" acts pretty much like a female version of the real deal.
41	* RealityIsUnrealistic: Kate's breath isn't visible during her first scenes, which take place on the frozen-over Lake Baikal in Siberia. However, breath only condenses in cold temperatures if the air is humid enough, and Siberia is generally rather dry, making the scene plausible.
42	* SadisticChoice: Alice tries to force Jacob to choose between Sophie or dozens of innocent people, having planted a bomb in one of his vans.
43	* SamusIsAGirl: InUniverse; only Alice and Sophie who've seen 'Batman' up close know the Dark Knight is actually a woman. Sophie decides not to reveal this fact to her boss.
44	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Kate all but tells her instructors at the military academy where to shove it, and quits without a second thought when she and Sophie face expulsion for homosexual conduct. [[LoveCannotOvercome Sophie can't bring herself to make the same choice.]]
45	* SecondLove: Sophie is married to a man named Tyler after Kate's return.
46	* ShoutOut: The "Movie in the Park" playing during Kate's official debut as Batwoman is ''Film/{{The Mark of Zorro\|1920}}'', which is commonly the film the Waynes were watching before their deaths and thus played a key role in shaping Bruce's methods as Batman.
47	* SinkOrSwimMentor: Kate's mentor has her dive into a frozen lake with shackles on to get the key for them and then covers the exit hole, forcing her to punch a new hole using the cuffs as knuckle-dusters. Afterwards, he even scolds her for being too slow.
48	* SlaveToPR: Catherine has to put on a good face for the press because she doesn't want the city in panic.
49	* StealthPun: That's a real ''Film/SophiesChoice'' Jacob is put in.
50	* SteelEarDrums: As Kate fights one of Alice's goons, his pistol discharges twice inside a metal elevator, but neither shows any discomfort.
51	* SpottingTheThread: Kate immediately spots that her aunt's necklace has been moved to the opposite side of the shelf it's normally on, leading her to discover the secret entrance to the Batcave.
52	* SurpriseParty: Kate gets one after returning to Gotham.
53	* TakeMeInstead: Alice says she wants revenge on Jacob Kane, so Kate offers herself as a more valuable hostage in Sophie's place. Alice however taunts her that Sophie's loss will be more devastating to her father, as he regards Sophie as the [[WhyAreYouNotMySon daughter he never had in Kate]].
54	* TrainingFromHell: Kate swims in icy water in Siberia while handcuffed as a form of training. Her teacher seals the hole she dived through, forcing her to break the ice with the handcuffs to avoid drowning. When she complains, the teacher simply tells her that she'll break the ice more quickly the next day.
55	* SpareAMessenger: After capturing Kate, Alice whacks Kate in the face with a bat and dumps her near Mary's clinic, so she can deliver a message to her father. However TheReveal of Alice's identity implies she has other reasons for sparing her life.
56	* TheUnFavorite: Alice believes Kate is this to Jacob, saying that Sophie is the daughter that Jacob always wanted.
57	* WeCanRuleTogether: Used for the WhamLine that Alice is Kate's long-lost sister Beth, though it's done as Alice's voiceover rather than a direct proposal.
58	-->'''Alice:''' I'll win you over, my dear sister. The two of us will rule Gotham together.
59	* WellDoneDaughterGirl: Kate has always tried to please her father after her sister and mother died, but it never seemed to work.
60	* YankTheDogsChain: Kate was heartbroken when Sophie first lied about their relationship in military school so she could stay and then told Kate it was just a fling and she never loved her. After saving Sophie's life, Kate drops by, clearly hoping they can have a fresh start and reunite... and meets Sophie's ''husband''.
61	* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Kate's reaction upon entering the Batcave and realizing her supposedly dull-witted playboy cousin just happens to be the Dark Knight.
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Context Recap / Batwoman2019S1E1Pilot